Grammy nomination for rap is not good

Grammy, once a prestigious and most desired award for every artist, is now in shambles. For the last few years, Grammy has lost its significance, with many artists and their fans distancing themselves from the award show.

Often titled the music’s biggest night, it is an award show handed out by the Recording Academy to honor outstanding performances in the music business. On May 4, 1959, the first Grammy Awards ceremony was held to recognize the musical achievements of musicians for the year 1958, and since then, the show has continued annually. The 65th Grammy Award is scheduled to be held on February 5th, 2023, and the nomination is already out. And let me tell you, fans are not happy with the list, mostly rap.

They have maintained their streak of nominating the “hit” and mainstream artists, completely ignoring the art as well as the desire of music fans worldwide. In the rap album of the year category, there are five nominees, and out of them, only Kendrick Lamar and Pusha T’s albums are acceptable.

Considering the influence of Future’s music and the appeal of “I Never Liked You,” nominating him would not be the end of the world, but even contemplating the thought of selecting “GOD DID” and “Come Home The Kids Miss You” is wrong. DJ Khaled and Jack Harlow had successful albums with higher sales and chart placements. There’s no doubt! However, nominating these albums solely on the basis of their popularity is unethical on its own.

Besides, there are many critically acclaimed albums deserving of the spot. JID’s “The Forever Story” and Denzel Curry’s “Melt My Eyez See Your Future” definitely was the album of the year. These two albums were phenomenal and had better quality in terms of concept, production, and lyricism. In addition, “Cheat Codes” by Black Thought and Danger Mouse, “2000” by Joey

Badass and “Aethiopes” by billy woods were also the top contenders for rap album of the year.

Grammy was created with the intention of exposing better musicians and providing them with the platform they need to advance their careers. It would have made more sense if they had chosen someone like Denzel, JID, or Joey since they earned it and needed the promotion.

Over the years, tons of musicians have called out Grammy for not maintaining transparency during the nomination and for lack of diversity. Even more, people have claimed that the Grammy Awards are a celebrity-filled event held for attention rather than musical excellence. Eminem publicly denounced the Grammy, Kanye urinated on his Grammy and posted on Twitter, Machine Gun Kelly, Lil Wayne, Quavo, 50 Cents, and many more have questioned the judgement of the show. Moreover, major hip-hop artists such as J Cole, Drake, and The Weekend didn’t submit their nominations this year. It just shows that the award show’s importance is degrading day by day.

The only way for the Grammy Awards to move ahead at this point is to own their shortcomings and assign responsibilities to individuals who are familiar with the culture and can represent the musicians. Otherwise, the cycle of hate will continue, and the legacy of the Grammy will be tarnished over time.